


And They Were Roommates

by reyloise



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben can speak french, Bisexual Ben Solo, Comedy, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Humour, Roommates, Slow Burn, Unexpected pregnancy (for rose not rey), and its my fic, and they were ROOMMATES, because why the fuck not, finnrose breakup, like super slow burn, so there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2020-11-02 09:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20696195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reyloise/pseuds/reyloise
Summary: Oh my God, they were roommatesWhen Rey moves into a new apartment to join Poe, Rose and Finn. Things start off great but then she meets Ben Solo. After getting off on the wrong foot, soon they become friends but despite their roommates seeing how perfectly matched they are, will they themselves ever realise it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you MyJediLife! You're a real gem

Rey took a deep breath in and out to calm her nerves. This was the last flat she would try. She had already been interviewed by multiple tenants hoping for another flatmate, but none of them really seemed to really click with her. It wasn’t that she was fussy, she just knew exactly what she liked and how she liked it, and those flats and tenants were not that. She shrugged her shoulders and prepared herself to face whatever could be behind the door of her possible new home. She raised a fist and tried to knock on the door as confidently as she could. The door swung open, and she found herself face to face with a rather attractive and friendly-looking man, “I’m Poe,” he smiled at her as he held out his hand for her to shake.

Rey nodded, “I’m Rey.” 

“I know,” he gestured for her to come in, “You’re right on time.” 

The flat looked nice, it certainly matched the photos she’d seen, unlike some of the more dodgy ones she visited. Her possible future flatmate led her to a bright blue three seater sofa - that was absolutely covered in cushions with inspirational quotes like “carpe diem” and “think happy thoughts” printed on them. Poe chucked a couple of them on the ground to make space for Rey before he sat himself across from her in a matching blue armchair. Rey sat up straight, for some reason, she felt as if she were in the headmaster’s office despite having left school years ago. 

“So,” Poe began, “I’m assuming you read all of the details in the description?” 

“Uh, yeah,” Rey replied. 

“So you’re alright with having five people, including you, in one apartment?” 

“The more the merrier,” Rey smiled tentatively. Poe seemed like a nice guy - but to be honest he could be an axe murderer for all she knew. Suddenly, a young woman strolled into the room. 

“Poe, is that the new-”. 

Rey gasped before her face broke into a massive beam, “Rose?” she exclaimed and got to her feet. Rose grinned and pulled the other girl into a tight hug, “Rey! I thought it was you!” 

“How do you guys know each other?” Poe interrupted them. 

“We did our apprenticeship together,” Rose said, “Wow, I haven’t seen you in, what, four years?” Rose noted the lack of beverage in her friend’s hands, and dragged Rey away from the interview and into the kitchen, “Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? Do you want anything to eat or-” 

“Sorry to break up the reunion, but we’ve got another applicant coming, so if you just want to get back here and-” Poe began, but before he could finish Rose shushed him. 

“Tell the other applicant the room’s taken,” Rose said assertively, “I know Rey, she’s responsible - she’ll make a great roommate. She’s tidy, she pays her rent on time. Just trust me on this, ‘kay?” 

“Shouldn’t you talk about it with the others?” Rey said helplessly, but Rose was not to be swayed. 

“It’s fine, Finn will back me up, and Poe and Ben don’t have a choice.” she said confidently, “When do you want to move in?” 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

It was decided that Rey would move in that weekend. After Rey had exchanged numbers with Rose, she headed back to her old flat that she shared with an eccentric woman named Maz. Maz was barely home, often travelling around the world and going thrill seeking. The last Rey had heard from her was just before she went BASE jumping in Mexico. Rey only needed to pack her clothes and some other basics, all the furniture belonged to Maz, and there was already furniture at the new flat. So - all in all, it was all very convenient, and everything seemed to be falling into place, almost as if she were destined to live there. Just before she had left Rose and Poe, Finn had come through the door just in time for an introduction. He seemed like a very kind and warm person who was eager to please everyone. The only person Rey needed to meet was Ben. Apparently he was a high school French teacher, and was running the after school homework club - which explained his lack of presence. She did catch sight of him in a photo, and she had to admit that of all the attractive men in the flat, hypothetically he would be the one she would drop her knickers for. 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

“Righto then,” Rey puffed as she lugged the last two rubbish bags containing all her worldly goods up the stairs. Of course, her good luck had to run out with the apartment lift breaking the morning she was due to move, and of course the flat had to be on the sixth floor. Rey considered herself reasonably fit, but there was only so many trips you could take up and down stairs carrying boxes and bags without getting tired, even with help from others. It was a hot day, and there was an audible sigh of relief at the sight of Poe arriving with a tub of ice cream. 

“So, uh, where’s Ben?” Rey asked casually. This mysterious flatmate was still a no show, and the curiosity was starting to get to her. 

Poe’s mobile buzzed.“Speak of the Devil,” he said as he picked up his phone, “Ben, where are you?” There was a pause as he listened to his friend, “Oh, shit. Really? I’m sorry ‘bout that.” He turned to Finn and Rose, “It’s Snoke.” He whispered and the other two looked at each other, unsurprised. 

“Who’s that?” Rey asked quietly as Poe carried on talking to Ben. 

“He’s Ben’s boss,” Rose replied, “he’s a total prick of the first order.” 

“Ben’ll be home in a couple of minutes,” Poe said, putting his phone back on the table. 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

The door slammed shut behind Ben as he stormed past the group. 

“There’s no need to take it out on the door,” Poe said, not unkindly. Ben just stuck his middle finger up at him and stomped up the hallway, presumably to his room. 

“What’s up with Captain Sunshine?” Rey frowned. 

“Snoke happened,” Poe replied with a sigh. 

“What’s happened with the Wicked Wizard of the West?” Finn piped up. 

Poe sighed, “You’ll have to ask Ben, it’s not my place to tell.” 

Rey didn’t really know what to say, so she awkwardly turned her attention back to her ice-cream. Did he break up with someone? Who is Snoke? It looked like she’d have to wait a bit longer to meet her flatmate. 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

She only had to wait an hour before Ben came out of his room. He didn’t say hello or greet her, he didn’t even acknowledge her in the slightest. He just sat down on the sofa with a hefty book in his hands and read. He didn’t really look too upset, he looked extremely pissed off. He’s well fit, Rey thought as she took in his appearance. He was like a modern day byronic hero, tall, dark, handsome and currently very broody. He caught Rey staring at him. 

“What?” he snapped. Rey was taken aback. 

“Nothing,” she said quickly. 

“Well, stop staring at me then,” and with that he went back to reading. 

Rey tried a friendly approach, she was an avid reader, so hopefully it was a book she had also read - then they could start a conversation from there, “What are you reading?” 

“It.” 

Rey hadn’t really ventured into Stephen King territory. She had tried reading Christine, but it turned out that a possessed 1958 Plymouth Fury wasn’t really her thing, so that unfortunately ruled out something to talk about. 

Rey was quiet for a minute before she said, “So, Ben-” 

“What?” he demanded witheringly, “Can’t you see I’m trying to read?” 

Rey felt some anger bubble in her chest, he may be upset, but that didn’t give him any right to talk to her like a piece of shit. She stood up and left the room before her temper got the best of her. 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

“I know something shit has probably happened to him, but he’s seriously being a dick to me right now,” Rey vented to Rose as her friend helped her unpack the last of her things in her new bedroom. 

“I’ll admit,” Rose said, “He's a little prickly, but once you get to know him he’s really sweet. Just give him a chance, Rey.” 

“Okay,” Rey resigned, “But just for you.” She got up, “I’m getting a drink, do you want anything?” 

Rose shook her head. Just as Rey was about to walk into the kitchen she heard Ben talking to Poe. It was clearly a private conversation, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she stayed out of sight but close enough to hear them. 

“Why do we even need another roommate? We were fine with just four of us.” Ben said. She could hear Poe getting annoyed. 

“Why not? Rose and Finn moved into the same bedroom, and it helps with rent.” 

Ben huffed, “So what?” 

“What do you have against Rey?” Poe sighed, “Everyone else likes her apart from you. She’s only been here a day, you hardly know her.” 

“She’s annoying, she talks too much, she’s nosy and a control freak and-” Ben stopped as Rey barged into the room and pushed past him. She then went on to very aggressively make a cup of tea whilst Poe glared at Ben. Rey couldn’t see Ben’s face, she refused to even look in the rude fucker’s general direction. She had only just left to go back to her room when she heard Poe whisper yell, “She heard you, you dumbass.” 

“It’s not my fault she was eavesdropping,” Ben replied, unable to disguise the slight hint of remorse in his voice. 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

And so began the rivalry between Rey and Ben. Well, at least it was a rivalry on Rey’s part, Ben had decided to keep his emotions in check. He felt guilty after Rey overhearing his criticisms of her, and he knew that they were unwarranted, but Rey wasn’t giving him a chance to apologise. If he walked into a room she was in, much like a cat sitting on its favourite armchair with an iron will to not move, she would stare him down until he would uncomfortably leave. If he was already in a room she would go about loudly and using an unnecessary amount of force until the constant noise drove him away. If he tried to talk to her, she would harrumph and turn her back to him. No matter how much her friends tried, she refused to give in. After a week she knew that she was acting immature, but she refused to give in. And so Ben decided that if she wasn’t going to try to let him make amends, why even bother. Eventually Poe, Rose and Finn gave up on trying to make them make peace, and could only wearily look on as the two continued to battle out whatever petty competition they had going between them. It started with Ben making snide remarks within earshot of Rey, Rey later on doing the same to him, then Rey would ‘accidentally’ drop Ben’s books so that the bookmarks fell out, so Ben ‘accidentally’ misplaced Rey’s phone charger. The day Ben’s brake lights were mysteriously connected to his car horn after Rey’s keys to the apartment seemed to disappear into thin air was the day the Rose snapped. 

“OH MY GOD, GUYS!” she screamed, after they had just completely destroyed her last nerve, “JUST FUCK EACH OTHER AND GET IT OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM!” 

Both Rey and Ben stopped in their tracks and looked at each other in shock. Rey grimaced. Her banging Ben fucking Solo? Never in a million years.


	2. Chapter 2

After Rose’s outburst, Rey and Ben were no longer allowed to continue their petty competition of who could ruin who’s day the most. Their relationship evolved into mutual civility and acknowledgement, much to Rose, Poe and Finn’s relief, however, that was only in front of their friends. Behind their backs the glares and attempts to make each other’s lives slightly more difficult carried on, albeit less intense than before. They mostly avoided each other’s company as much as possible. Ben was rather weary of Rey’s determination to not forgive and not forget. Yes, he had been a dick, yes, his behaviour towards her had been uncalled for, but did he really deserve to have the ire of his fiery and headstrong flatmate? That was debatable. He had tried to make amends but then again when Rey wouldn’t forgive him he had regressed back into being an arsehole to her. 

“C’mon Ben,” Poe sighed, “You may be fooling Finn and Rose but we’ve known each other since we were kids, I know you’re not trying to get along with her. Stop putting on a show for us and actually try.”  


Ben crossed his arms, “How about no? I’ve tried and she’s determined to not let go.”  


Poe rolled his eyes, “Are you sorry for being a prick?”  


“Well, I was-”  


“Ben.”  


“Fine, I am, but-”  


“Well, then keep trying. It's easy for me to see, you either want to make her life hell or fuck-”  


Ben turned red at his best friend's bluntness, “You,” he hissed, as he looked around making sure there was no one else in the room, “Shut up.”  


Poe leant back and smiled, noting his friend's embarrassment “I knew it, Solo. I fucking knew it. You’re a terrible liar.”  


“Shut. Up. You. Prick.” Ben snarled as his Poe laughed  


“You know I’m going to start asking for daily updates.”  


Ben threw up his hands in defeat and stormed out of the room just as Rey came in. They exchanged scowls as they passed each other, much to their flatmate’s amusement.  


“Twat” Rey muttered when he was out of earshot. She scrutinised Poe, her eyes blazed with suspicion, “What’s so funny?”  


Poe schooled his face into an impartial expression, “I was just thinking about something funny I watched earlier.”  


Rey clearly didn’t believe him but didn’t want to press any further. She strolled towards the sofa and flopped down, “I’m about to watch some telly if that’s alright.”  


Poe shrugged, “Knock yourself out, I was about to leave anyway to get some groceries.” He picked up his wallet from the table, “See you later.”

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

As Ben tried to grade his students’ homework, he could hear the TV was being watched at a ridiculously loud volume. He was the only other one in the house so there was no doubt that Rey’s intention was to annoy him. He sighed and rolled out of bed, and marched to the living room. He took a breath, Be polite, he thought, don’t snap at her, don't call her a bitch even if she’s being one  
He stood behind the sofa, Rey too engrossed in the show to notice his presence, “What are you watching?”  


“JESUS!” Rey exclaimed, jumping in fright, “Don’t scare me like that you dick.”  


“I didn’t mean to!”  


“Yeah, right,” Rey snorted.  


_Be polite, be polite, be polite,_ Ben chanted in his head, “I’m sorry for scaring you.”  


Rey narrowed her eyes at him, “Sure,” she said slowly, “What do you want.”  


“Could you lower the volume?” he asked politely. Rey turned back to the TV disdainfully  


“No.”  


Ben gritted his teeth, _don’t make things worse_, he told himself, “Please?”  


“No.”  


He thought for a minute before smirking as he took the guilt-tripping route, “What about the neighbours? I’m pretty sure their 2-year-old granddaughter is visiting and if I remember correctly from the last time she visited it might be time for her nap right now.”  


Rey lowered the volume with a huff, “I know you’re lying but I don’t want to risk it.". Ben smiled in triumph and Rey caught sight of him and rolled her eyes, “Anything else I can do for you?”

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

Poe's true intention for leaving wasn't really to get groceries. Rather he, Finn and Rose had organised to meet up at a nearby café and discuss their plan of attack for their mission of fulfilling the impossible, or so Finn and Rose thought, but going by Ben's reaction earlier that day Poe had high hopes for the task of getting Rey and Ben to stop fighting. 

"And here I was thinking you just wanted to grab coffee with us. Are you actually serious about doing this?” Rose asked Poe, the mastermind behind this plot.  


Poe smiled, "Come on guys, cheer up. Just think about the peace and quiet we'll have after all this."  


"We really have nothing going on in our lives." Finn sighed as he reached for his flat white, “I can’t believe I’m actually considering this.”  


Poe clapped his friend on the back, “That’s the spirit!"

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

When Rose, Finn and Poe eventually arrived back at the apartment, there was an unusual (going by the standards of the past week) sense of calm permeating the room. They all stopped in their tracks when they caught sight of the cause of the tranquillity.  
“Did someone slip something into my coffee or is what I think I'm seeing actually real? ” Rose whispered as she tried to comprehend the picture before her. Ben and Rey asleep on the sofa. Together. 

Not wanting to let the opportunity go, Poe crept as silently as he could to stand in front of the sleeping pair and took a photo. He then put his phone away and cleared his throat loudly, startling Ben and Rey awake.  


“Good evening, lovebirds,” he said slyly, his eyes twinkling “had a nice nap?”. But his two flatmates didn’t hear his jab. The moment their eyes had snapped open, they bolted up off the seat and scrambled a good 4 metres apart, only focused on one another.  


“Ugh- you drooled on me!’ Ben glowered at Rey and pointed at the small wet patch on his shirt  


“Well, that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t sat your arse down next to me instead of sitting somewhere else or even better going back to your room to fucking sleep!” she retorted

“So this is my fault, is it? Well if you hadn’t decided to watch one of the most boring films in the world then I wouldn’t have fallen asleep! What excuse do you have?”  


“If you didn’t snore like a bloody train every night then maybe I would be able to get to sleep!” her voice raised slightly louder  


“I don’t snore!”  


“Yes, you fucking do!”  


“Well, then get some goddamn earplugs then!". 

Instead of replying, Rey just hurled a cushion at Ben’s head and then stormed out of the room. And with that, the blissful seconds of peace were long forgotten.  


“Way to go, Dameron,” Finn grumbled as he and Rose brushed past him. 

Poe shrugged and held up his phone, “Still worth it.” He sidled up to his childhood friend who was now sitting back on the couch with a thunderous expression, “So?”  


“So what?”  


“How did it happen?”  


“How did what happen?”  


“You were only just cuddled up to the love of your life, how did it happen?”  


“She’s no the love of my life, she’s just-”  


“Just what?”  


“The bane of my existence,” he grumbled.  


“Liar,” Poe whispered in a sing-song voice as Ben looked ready to throttle him.  


“The feelings mutual,” Rey hissed as she, unbeknownst to them, re-entered the room.  


"I wasn't talking to you," Ben snapped. Rey flipped him the finger as she headed into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. She froze after opening pantry and whipped around to glare at Ben,  


"Where. Are. My. Bloody. Tea bags?"  


"It wasn't me!" Ben retorted, "Why do you always blame me for shit?"  


"Because it's always you that pulls shit like this!" Rey said accusingly, " It was a new box, it doesn't just disappear. Where is it?"  


The was a beat before Ben grinned with a smug satisfaction "Rey?"  


"What?"  


"Are those your tea bags?" He asked, pointing to the box of PG Tips sitting at the corner of the bench behind her. Rey blushed and grabbed the box before turning back around rapidly, muttering a barely audible thanks. Ben's smile grew wider, "Sorry, what was that? Couldn't hear you."  


Rey clenched her jaw, "I said thanks." She said in an undertone.  


"Come again?" But Ben was pushing his luck. Rey refused to repeat herself again and just as she finished her cup of tea she launched the wet tea bag at Ben's head with as much force as possible, hitting her target with a dull squelch. "Stop throwing shit at my head!" He yelled.

Poe, who had remained silent throughout the duration of this exchange, burst out laughing as Ben wiped droplets of tea from his hair with a grimace. Rey joined in with the laughter and Ben’s stomach gave a somersault at the sound of her giving an unintentional snort halfway through laughing. 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

It was Rey’s night to cook dinner, the night everyone dreaded but she insisted that she pull her weight and nobody wanted to tell her that her food was practically inedible. The safest thing to do was for everyone, despite Rey’s assurance that she is perfectly okay in the kitchen and didn’t need supervision, to hang around and pretend they just wanted to chat. Ben’s role was to supervise the hob, Rose had to keep an eye on the oven and Finn and Poe prepared themselves to catch anything that was bound to be dropped. Rey was careless in the kitchen, becoming more focused on conversing with her friends than paying attention to what she was doing. There was one morning where she was so engrossed in talking to Maz on the phone that she forgot to stop pouring the milk in her bowl of cereal. It was only when it started dripping on her foot that she noticed what had happened. That night she had planned to make Shepherd’s Pie and everyone was on edge. There was no room for mistakes, so much could go wrong. When Rey began searching the drawers for a cutting board, Ben had to leap up and stop the potatoes from boiling over. When Rey had her back turned, Rose power walked to the oven and lowered the temperature to the correct heat. If Finn hadn’t had quick enough reflexes, the salad bowl would have toppled off the edge of the bench as she knocked it with her elbow. 

“Here we go!” Rey exclaimed as she proudly placed her meal on the table, “I won’t be having any, I’m just having salad so you guys can have all of it.”  


Her flatmates gave unconvincing smiles of gratitude and reluctantly one by one spooned some of the pie onto their plates. They looked back at Rey who sat watching them expectantly and Ben caved in to the pressure to be the sacrificial lamb so to speak. Knowing all eyes were on him, he put as much of the casserole as he thought he could handle on his fork and reluctantly raised it to his mouth. He had underestimated how bad this dish would be. He forced down the food and grabbed his glass of water and gulped it down.  


“What did you put in this?” he demanded as he tried to drink away a taste he desperately wanted to forget. Rey frowned, “What? What’s wrong with it?”  


Rose kicked Ben’s shin under the table, reminding him to bite his tongue, “Nothing is wrong with it.” he said through clenched teeth  


“Let me try some,” Rey reached over to have a spoonful. The moment the food passed her lips her mouth puckered like a cat’s bum as the salty and bitter overcooked lamb and vegetables assaulted her taste buds. She sank back down onto her chair with a soft, “Oh.”  


Her friends winced, “Yeah…”

That was the last time Rey cooked from scratch, not that anybody minded of course.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the 8 month delay... writer's block is a bitch
> 
> Thank you so much dyadinbloom for beta-ing this chapter

Finn and Rose had started to grow apart since Rey had moved in. Rose suspected that Finn started to develop feelings, which were non-reciprocated or intentionally initiated, for Rey. She wasn’t as oblivious as he thought she was, however, she didn’t blame Rey in the slightest. 

Rey paused as she heard Rose and Finn arguing from behind their bedroom door. Fighting had become more and more of a common occurrence over the past month since Rey had moved in. A break-up was imminent but all that the others could do was just wait and out and stew in the tension that came along with Rose and Finn being in the same room post-quarrel. There was a pause and their voices quietened so that Rey was nearly pressed up against the door to try to hear what they were saying.

“If they wanted you to listen to their conversation then they’d have the door open.” she heard a deep voice say from behind her. She whirled around and found herself chest to chest - or rather face to chest - with Ben. 

“Fuck off,” she glared at him, her head tilted right up to meet his gaze.

“No.”

‘"Why?” she demanded, trying to ignore their proximity.

“Because I want to hear what they’re saying too.”

Suddenly the door swung open and the both of them turned to see Rose standing in front of them with her arms crossed.

“If you’re going to eavesdrop then maybe talk quieter,” she said scathingly, sending daggers at the pair. The door slammed shut and there was a beat before Rey huffed, “Way to go, Solo.” 

“How’s this my fault?!”

“Because it always is!” she retorted and stalked off to the kitchen. 

That night Finn received a call from his half-sister, Jannah, that his birth mother was dying. They had only just contacted each other for the first time the year prior but they shared a tight bond and there was no way the Finn would miss being with her, even if it meant flying across the country and being away for a length of time that nobody knew. It was decided that he would be leaving the next morning. Dinner was quiet that night.

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

As Ben piled Finn’s luggage into the boot of his car, Finn was being smothered with hugs from Rey and Poe. 

“Sorry to break you all up but we need to go now if Finn wants to catch this plane,” Ben said, not unkindly. Finn pulled back and gave Rose a brief peck on the cheek. 

“Call us when you get there, yeah?” Rey said, giving him a final squeeze as Poe gave him a pat on the shoulder. Finn just nodded silently and got into the car. He hadn’t even looked Rose in the eyes once. 

It was a quick affair, dropping Finn off at the airport. Ben helped his friend with his suitcase, waited for him as he checked in, and then said their goodbyes and gave him a tight hug before heading back to the apartment. 

_I wonder what’s the apartment going to be like now that Finn’s gone_, he mused. 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

_“Ich ben euer confrenicier, je suis votre compere… I am your host!”_

Ben’s heart pounded as he heard a familiar voice coming from the living room. He ran into the living room only to be greeted at the sight of Rose, Poe and Rey lounging on the couches and giggling as his past 18-year-old self flamboyantly strolled around a stage and addressed an off-screen audience. 

“No, no, no, no,” He froze in shock and embarrassment. 

Poe turned around to look at him with a smirk, “Oh, hey, Ben,” he patted the empty spot next to him, “You’re just in time!” 

Ben nearly tripped over his own feet in a rush to get to the television to switch it off, “You are not watching this.” 

“Why not?” Rey tried to muffle a laugh, “I think it was off to an amazing start.” 

Ben ignored Rey and kicked Poe’s shin and scowled, his cheeks and the tips of his ears bright red, “How the fuck did you get your hands on that?” 

“I have my ways.” 

“It was my mother wasn’t it?” Ben huffed, but Poe shook his head with a smug grin. Ben flopped down next to Poe and folded his arms, clearly now in a mood. 

“What kind of boyfriend would I have been if I hadn’t bought the DVD recording as soon as it was available?” He lifted up a basic DVD case with cheesy Microsoft word art spelling out Hanna City High School Senior Drama Production of Cabaret 

“You guys dated?” Rey asked, shocked. 

“We sure did,” Poe grinned, “I was Benny boy’s first love.” 

Ben rolled his eyes, “I would hardly call you my first love-” 

“I’ve known you two for three years now!’ Rose exclaimed, “How did I not know this?” 

“We only dated for, like, two months,” Ben replied. 

“It was four and he decided that we were better off friends,” Poe sighed dramatically, “I was heartbroken.” 

“Bullshit.” Ben snorted, glad for the change in topic but still uncomfortable talking about his past romantic history. 

“Is Cabaret even appropriate for a high school production?” Rose frowned, turning the DVD case over in her hand, bringing everyone’s attention back to what they had just watched. 

Okay, he decided, he much preferred talking about his dating history. 

“It was only the seniors and my school seemed to think so,” Ben replied curtly. 

“For what it’s worth, from what I saw, I really do think you were great,” Rose said kindly. "I'm sorry I laughed, it was just because I found it so odd seeing how different you were from how you normally are." 

Ben gave a reluctant, half-hearted smile. Just as he was about to get up off the couch and leave the room, Poe gave a sudden shout of triumph, “I’ve found it!” 

Ben’s heart sank, “Oh, God, what did you find?” 

Rey quickly leant over to look at Poe’s phone and grinned, “This. Is. Brilliant.” 

“You’ll want to hear this Rose,” Poe said, “I’ve found a review.” 

Ben made a grab for the mobile but Poe managed to fend him off as he read out, “The evening’s events are overseen by Ben Solo’s eccentric Emcee. His lurking presence throughout is often amusing but grows increasingly sinister as the evening comes to its climax. Strongly sung and wittily acted, Solo’s performance delighted the audience.” 

Before Ben was able to stop her, Rey quick as a flash turned the TV back on 

_ “Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome. Im Cabaret, au cabaret, to cabaret!”_

Rey had been laughing before she slowly trailed off and her smile fell as she watched Ben storm out of the apartment. 

“Joke’s over, guys,” Rose rolled her eyes and got up to chase after Ben. 

_“Leave your troubles outside… so life is disappointing? Forget-”_

The young Ben/MC on-screen vanished as Rose turned the TV off again as she walked past, “It’s not funny anymore.” 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

Ben and Rose had been gone for a good four hours, both phones inconveniently left at the apartments, and it had been long dark when Poe started to pace around nervously. They both looked at the clock on the wall. It was 11 o’clock. Rey had been slightly on edge since he’d left but she didn’t know why she felt guilty. She didn’t like Ben. She shouldn’t be feeling sympathetic. He was always rude to her. Well, he had been. As she reflected on it, she noticed that she couldn’t really remember the last time he had been unfriendly towards her. Suddenly they heard muffled laughter coming from outside and in burst Rose and Ben. Their laughter stopped abruptly and their smiles dropped when they saw the looks on their roommates’ faces. 

“Do you know how worried I’ve been?!” Poe nearly yelled. “It’s been four hours!” 

Rose had the decency to look apologetic, “We just went out for a drink.” 

“That’s not good enough!” Rey exclaimed, “I was imagining you two lying dead in a ditch somewhere.” 

Ben snorted, “As if you would care if I died?” 

“That- that’s not the point.” Rey faltered slightly before firing up again, “The point is that we’ve been here worried sick about you two because you idiots didn’t tell us where you were going and left your phones here!” 

“It’s not that hard to remember your phones!” Poe added, “It’s raining and dark and nearly midnight and- and I just can’t believe you two!" 

“I’m not a kid!” Ben fumed. 

“Well, don’t act like one then!” 

Rose, ever the peace-maker, interrupted, “Guys, come on. Look, Poe, Rey we’re sorry, we didn’t mean to worry you.” She whacked Ben in the arm who then mumbled a monotonous and half-hearted apology. 

Rey bit her lip as she watched him sulkily walk back to his room. Their fighting was starting to get old and winding him up was so fun anymore. He really thought she wouldn’t care if he died. Maybe it was time that they put the childishness behind them. She followed him with a sigh and knocked on his bedroom door. 

“What?” Ben demanded from the other side. 

“Can I come in?” 

“No.” 

With the door remaining unopened, Rey realised that he thought that she had come to make fun of him again. After all, she hadn’t tried to act civilly towards him, which in hindsight she finally registered that in her determination to hate him, she had completely rebuffed all of his attempts to make amends. 

“I’m not here to tease you. I promise.” 

There was silence before his door half-opened. “What do you want?” 

“I want to apologise,” she said looking ashamedly at the floor. 

“Why now?” he demanded, “Why are you trying to say sorry now? I’m tired of trying to make amends. I’ve tried for weeks to try and get along with you. I know I was a dick to you, I apologised for that but nothing I did was good enough and I’m fucking sick of it.” 

“I’m not-” 

“Don’t even bother,” he interrupted, “If you really are sorry, just fuck off and leave me alone.” 

And with that, he slammed the door shut. Rey felt her temper rising and just before she was about to bang furiously on his door to open up she heard Poe say from behind her, “Just let him cool off.” 

“Why is he overreacting?’ Rey fumed. “He’s being such a child.” 

“It’s my fault really,” Poe replied, “I shouldn’t have pushed his buttons. I knew he doesn’t like getting teased like this but I did it anyway. I forgot how upset he gets over it.” 

Ben, obviously heard Poe’s arrival and called out, “You can fuck off too, Dameron.” 

“I’m sorry, man,” Poe said. “See you in the morning.” He was met with silence. He steered Rey away from the bedroom door before she could say something that would in no way help the situation. 

“He’s a bit touchy about being made fun of,” Poe said, handing Rey a cup of tea as he sat down across from her, “Had to put up with a lot of it at school. Kids are cruel and Ben got given some brutal nicknames.” 

“Like what?” Rey asked after taking a sip of her hot drink. 

“You know how ruthless and creative kids are, there were the classics like Dumbo, Stringbean, Gulliver but I would say the worst one would have been in 12th grade when some dicks called him The Child Catcher for a year. That one stung a lot.” Poe replied with a grimace. 

Rey’s mouth dropped open, “I didn’t realise-” 

“How could you? He never talks about it.” 

✧ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✧

Rey sat in deep thought, her hands clutching at the mug of tea that had long gone cold. Not that she minded, she wasn't going to drink it anyway. It was far too weak anyway, basically tea flavoured milk. On one hand, she was annoyed that he refused to forgive her, but on the other, she now knew why he reacted the way he did. It made sense but he didn’t have to be so rude to her about it, she hadn’t known however she shouldn’t have carried on taunting him when he asked them to stop. She would’ve done the same with any of her friends, but that was just it wasn’t it? They weren’t friends.


End file.
